By: Ogden S.C.R. No. 20
 
 
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
       WHEREAS, A special session of the legislature was called by
Governor Rick Perry on April 17, 2006, to respond to the Texas
Supreme Court decision in Neeley v. West Orange-Cove Consolidated
Independent School District, 176 S.W. 3d 746 (Tex. 2005); and
       WHEREAS, The legislature responded by enacting House Bill 1
(Chapter 5, Acts of the 79th Legislature, 3rd Called Session,
2006), which provides for increasing state aid to school districts
for the purpose of reducing school district maintenance and
operations taxes by 11.33 percent for the 2006 tax year and 33.33
percent for the 2007 tax year with the understanding that further
state aid for the purpose of reducing school district taxes for
maintenance and operations would be forthcoming in subsequent
years; and
       WHEREAS, House Bill 1 received overwhelming support in both
houses of the legislature, passing by a margin of 31-0 in the Senate
and 136-8 in the House of Representatives; and
       WHEREAS, House Bill 1 establishes a mechanism for providing
significant relief from school district property taxes by
realigning funding for the public school system, specifically by
providing for increasing the share of funds from state taxes and
reducing the share of funds from school district property taxes;
and
       WHEREAS, The provision in House Bill 1 for substantially
increasing the state's share of public school funding reverses a
long-term trend of increasing reliance on local property taxes; and
       WHEREAS, House Bill 1 calls for a reduction in school
district property tax bills in Texas by an estimated $7 billion
annually in fiscal years 2008 and 2009; and
       WHEREAS, House Bill 1, by providing a mechanism for
significantly reducing school district property taxes, makes home
ownership more affordable for Texas families; and
       WHEREAS, Funding the school district property tax relief
mechanism provided by House Bill 1 is essential to the promotion of
long-term economic growth in Texas; and
       WHEREAS, Senate Bill 2, 80th Legislature, Regular Session,
2007, or similar legislation makes appropriations for the purpose
of implementing the school district property tax rate reduction
mechanism established by House Bill 1; and
       WHEREAS, Appropriations made by Senate Bill 2 are separate
from and in addition to appropriations made by the general
appropriations bill, Senate Bill 1, 80th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2007, or similar legislation; and
       WHEREAS, Appropriations made by the general appropriations
bill are subject to the constitutional spending limit for state tax
revenues not dedicated by the constitution, and appropriations made
from those sources in Senate Bill 1 or similar legislation are less
than the amount authorized by Section 22(a), Article VIII, Texas
Constitution; now, therefore, be it
       RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Texas, That the
legislature finds that the existing need for lower school district
property taxes constitutes an emergency for the people of Texas;
and, be it further
       RESOLVED, That the 80th Legislature may appropriate state tax
revenues not dedicated by the Texas Constitution for the state
fiscal biennium ending August 31, 2009, in an amount not to exceed
$14,191,100,000 more than the amount authorized by Section 22(a),
Article VIII, Texas Constitution, with $14,191,100,000 being the
amount appropriated for the biennium by Senate Bill 2, 80th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2007, or similar legislation making
appropriations for the purpose of funding school district property
tax rate reductions in accordance with Section 42.2516, Education
Code, as added by House Bill 1 (Chapter 5, Acts of the 79th
Legislature, 3rd Called Session, 2006).